Printing device

Abstract

A printing device comprises an evaluation value determining module, a grouping process module, a recommended image designating module, and a printing process module. The evaluation value determining module determines, for each image, a first evaluation value for a prescribed evaluation item. The grouping process module performs a sorting process to sort the plurality of images into groups of similar images. The recommended image designating module designates, for each group, a recommended image from among the images belonging to the group, based on the first evaluation value. The printing process module prints the designated recommended image.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-29319 filed on Feb. 7, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to a technology for classifying a plurality of images into groups of similar images, and for printing a recommended image of each group.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]In recent years, high-capacity memory cards have become widespread as memory media for digital cameras and mobile phones. Since such high-capacity memory cards can store large numbers of images, it is sometimes difficult for the use to retrieve a desired image from among the large number of stored images. Accordingly, there has been proposed a printing device able to extract and print an image desired by the user, from among a large number images stored on a memory card (see JP...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]An object of the present invention is to provide a technology affording an easy process for selecting and printing only a desired image from among a plurality of images.

[0014]Since the printing device classifies a plurality of images into groups of similar images, and based on a first evaluation value for a prescribed evaluation item, designates and prints a recommended image for each group, thereby affording an easy process for selecting and printing only a desired image from among a plurality of similar images.

Problems solved by technology

Since such high-capacity memory cards can store large numbers of images, it is sometimes difficult for the use to retrieve a desired image from among the large number of stored images.

Consequently, the user will have to select a desired image worth printing from among this large number of similar images, which is extremely laborious.

Since the determination as to whether a human subject appears is accomplished through analyzing the image data of each individual image, it takes a relatively long time to complete the determination process for all of the images, and a resultant problem is that it takes a relatively long time for printing of a preferred image (an image in which a human subject appears) to be completed.

Images